Former governor of the Central Bank and leading PRSC director, Guillermo Caram is campaigning for the incoming government to drastically reduce its spending by RD$1.8 billion a month instead of increasing taxes to meet the RD$22 billion deficit. Caram on TV news programs said that while Congress debates the tax reform proposal, the incoming PLD government could secure the needed money by slicing off 19% of only three governmental budgetary chapters.
One of these is the payroll and expenditures for materials and supplies. He said that this chapter, which is at RD$3.1 billion according to the most recent budgetary account published by the Budget Office (ONAPRES) could easily be reduced by the proposed 19%, for savings of about RD$600 million.
Next he would cut by another 20% the transfers made to public and private institutions which stand at RD$3.05 billion. This again would result in savings of another RD$600 million. He said that autonomous governmental institutions would also have to reduce their spending by 19%. Furthermore, he said government financing to ONGs should be limited to those that can show more than five years in operation, audited financial statements and that they generate their own resources for 50% of their spending.
The third chapter to be reduced would be that of the foreign debt. He says this could be achieved by renegotiating payment of at least 29% of the RD$2.08 billion paid in the last month according to the ONAPRES statement. This would be sufficient for another RD$600 million to complete the RD$1.8 billion a month needed.
Caram concludes that this way the country could obtain the missing RD$22 billion. He said the acceptance of the IMF could be achieved, as the ultimate goal would be accomplished.